Swiss patent application 1131/90-5 describes an application device, which can be integrated into a shaver and with which a main preparation is spread over the skin directly upstream of the razor blade in the shaving direction. The application device comprises an applicator and a feed mechanism. The applicator has an application roll and a system of supply channels and is used for spreading the preparation over the skin. The feed mechanism has a reservoir for the preparation and means with which the preparation is fed into the applicator, e.g., a small manually operable pump.
The same application and also U.S. Ser. No. 07/718,557 (Now patented, U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,628) disclose complete shavers into which corresponding application devices are integrated. The supply mechanism can form the handle of the shaver, while the applicator is installed in the shaver head or is mounted on a blade holder on the applicator. In all the embodiments shown in both applications, the individual parts of the application device are firmly interconnected, so that the shaver becomes unusable as soon as one of the parts no longer functions.
If the shaver has a fixed blade or blades, the reservoir is advantageously dimensioned in such a way that it is empty when the blade is no longer sharp. Such a shaver is a disposable unit and must be manufacturable in an extremely economical manner. Such a shaver, like all disposable articles, has the advantage of absolute maintenance freedom.
However, if the shaver has a replaceable blade or blades, it is advantageous to construct the reservoir in such a way that it can be refilled, so that the shaver life is neither dependent on the blade, nor on the size of the reservoir. The user is willing to spend more on such a shaver, so that it can be given better quality, esthetics and ergonomics. However, the shaver suffers from the disadvantage that its reservoir must be refilled. Nevertheless, this disadvantage can be eliminated by a replacement cartridge, which constitutes a replaceable reservoir with the preparation. Another disadvantage is that if the reservoir becomes empty the pump can fill with air, which means that the pump must be designed in such a way that it can not only pump but also suck the preparation and this disadvantage cannot be obviated by using a replacement cartridge with a reservoir.
It has been found that those parts of the shaver which come into contact with the preparation must be cleaned every so often. This more particularly applies in the case of a preparation which tends to solidify and undergoes chemical changes as a result of contaminants introduced. Such cleaning presupposes that the pump is relatively robust and is in particular accessible for cleaning purposes. A pump satisfying these requirements cannot simultaneously be designed in such a way that it is operable with minimum forces. It has been found that small pumps which can be operated with a slight finger pressure are very sensitive to contamination and in particular to introduced, solid contaminants, such as hair fragments. It is also not easy to clean such small pumps because they are very small and when one is mounted on the shaver it cannot be flushed with rapidly flowing liquid. However, if the pump is not cleaned or is not cleanable, it will be the pump which limits the shaver life.